Genshin Impact version 2.4: how to clean up Spiral Abyss 12 floor - tips and tricks

Spiral Abyss Floor 12 has been restored, making the most challenging combat series in Genshin Impact to date. Even players with strong teams will struggle to clear the Spiral Abyss in one fell swoop. If you are looking to get all 9 stars on this floor, you will probably have to run through floor 12 more than once.

Each Spiral Abyss update grants a unique buff to aid you in your battles. This update is Blessing of the Abyssal Moon: Blade-Fourish Moon. This buff has the following effect:

When the active character's normal, charged, or falling attacks hit opponents multiple times within 2 seconds, that character's normal, charged, and falling attack DMG is increased by 5% for 8 seconds. Maximum 15 stacks. This effect can be activated once every 0,1 seconds and will be canceled if the character drops or leaves the field.

Leyline's ailment from plan 12 is a little more complicated than that from plan 11. If you're not diligent, you may find yourself dealing less damage than normal. This is Leyline's disturbance for Spiral Abyss 12th floor:

“Some opponents in this challenge have the Spirit Honed effect, which grants them 10% physical and all elemental RES. When opponents with Keen Spirit take hits from attacks that are considered Normal Attack DMG, they will lose 3% Physical and All Elemental RES. A maximum of 30% of each can be lost this way. The RES lost in this way will be restored every 20 seconds.

While drafting the teams for Spiral Abyss Plan 12, you will notice something complicated. Plans 12-1-2 and 12-2-2 both lend themselves a lot to freezing teams and area damage, but the 12-3-2 plan doesn't and requires high single target damage. This is a feature that many freeze teams lack. As a result, if you aim for 9-star completion, you will I'll probably have to run across the Abyss more than once.

You can earn 8 stars, for example, by not meeting the conditions of a certain plan. However, if you run across the Abyss again and meet the conditions of that plan with a different team, you will earn 9 stars, as the stars you earn are cumulative.

Recommended characters

Teams are difficult to enlist at this stage due to the different needs that are required for each chamber. Some chambers here require a high amount of single-target damage, some require a shield, some require Hydro characters, some require freeze squads, etc.

As a result, it is difficult to recommend some characters as usual with respect to the different cycles of the Abyss. Most Abyss loops often allow you to traverse the entire Abyss in a single ride, but not this time. You may find yourself running around this floor more than once.

• Ganyu / Ayaka / Freeze team: Freezing teams are important for plans 12-1-2 and 12-2-2. On floor 1-2, bringing a freezing team is doable as you will always carry a Hydro character and a Hydro character is pretty much in demand on this floor due to the Pyro Lector. Floor 12-2-2 sees two Hydro Lectors, which can be frozen permanently and easily disposed of. A freezing team may need to be substituted for the 12-3-2 plan if the single-target damage isn't high enough.
• Arataki Itto / Noelle / Geo team: While a popular strategy in this Abyss cycle is to alternate between one freeze squad and another for your second squad, it has been possible for me to award 9 stars to this Abyss using a Geo squad. Itto in particular has high single-target damage, and using Zhongli or Noelle can help you handle the First Geovishap easily.
• Tartaglia / Xiangling / Bennett: If you don't have a good freezing team, it's possible to vaporize the Hydro Lector shields instead of freezing them. This method is more difficult due to the mobility of the enemies, but it is definitely a viable alternative.
• Hu Tao: Single-target damage is very valuable in this plane, and Hu Tao is the queen of single-target damage.

Floor 12: Section 1 - First Half

We are starting in an overwhelming way. The Perpetual Mechanical Array once sparked waves of controversy as it had previously appeared in the Abyss earlier. Now, he's back. And it is literally the first battle. For attachment models, you can follow this guide here.

It is worth noting that the boss appears to be entering his second phase later than usual. You can wipe out most of the Perpetual Mechanical Array's health while it is in its first phase. Unfortunately, aside from memorizing attack patterns and a little luck, this is a DPS check. If your characters aren't strong enough, you probably won't be able to award 9 stars to this plan. However, there are a few ways to ensure you get a perfect clear.

The Perpetual Mechanical Array can often fly through the air. If this is PMA's first attack, you may be wasting time. Consider resetting the game until you get a more favorable attack pattern.

Floor 12: Section 1 - Second half

This plane has two waves of different enemies. The first wave is a bunch of Rockhound Whelps, who aren't too hard to deal with. Watch out for corrosion mechanics, as they can reduce your health before you know it. Once the Whelps are defeated, the most challenging part of the chamber presents itself.

Next, a Dendro Samachurl, a Pyro Abyss Mage and a Pyro Lector will challenge you. This is why you will need a Hydro character. There are two sources of heavy Pyro shields here that quickly boil down to Hydro attacks: the Pyro Abyss Mage and the second phase of the Pyro Lector.

The Pyro Lector will get a huge Pyro shield on which Hydro damage is effective. This stage occurs after approximately 80% of its HP has been deployed. We recommend attacking enemies in this order: the Dendro Samachurl, the Pyro Abyss Mage shield and then Abyss Mage + Pyro Lector simultaneously with area damage.

Lower the shield with Hydro damage, then move on to the next floor. The next room is also a challenge, but not bad if you know what you are doing.

Floor 12: Section Two - First Half

Incredibly, the next challenge is another world boss: the First Geovishap. While this can be an intimidating fight, it's actually trivial if you have high single target damage and Zhongli. (If you don't have Zhongli, luckily he'll get a reply very soon.)

The First Geovishap will use attacks that can be countered with the use of shields. This represents a lot of damage. Complemented with high single-target damage, it's actually not a big challenge.

If you have Zhongli, many of his attacks are pretty mundane and don't do much to dent his huge shield. But otherwise, you can study its attack patterns with this guide here.

Floor 12: Section Two - Second Semester

This floor is pretty simple. Two Hydro Lectors that generate Hydro shields once most of his HP has been eliminated. If you have Cryo characters, such as Ganyu, Ayaka or Chongyun, then this fight becomes a breeze. You can freeze them permanently once they spawn their Hydro shields, so that's not a problem.

As a result, this chamber isn't actually that difficult if you're using a freezing squad. However, be careful: in the next chamber you will have to fight the Maguu Kenki. Most Freeze squads struggle with this boss a bit, as it takes a lot of single-target damage.

Therefore, I chose to use a standard Childe international team, consisting of Tartaglia, Kazuha, Xiangling and Bennett. (You can replace Kazuha with Sucrose.) Vaporizing the two Pyro characters was just enough to wipe out the Hydro Lector shields in time. However, I was able to take out the First Geovishap in about a minute which means it took me a long time to defeat these enemies. Note that using Pyro characters may require you to quickly defeat the First Geovishap.

Floor 12: Bedroom Three - First Half

Room Three is actually the simplest room on Floor 12… if you bring the right teams. The first half is incredibly standard. The game will start with two Ruin Guards. Once you've defeated those two (it's not hard to group them, they often will naturally), you'll need to defeat two Ruin Graders.

While this fight was a little easy, you need to do a lot of damage at once. Arataki Itto deals strong single target and area damage, which is why it was my favorite DPS for my first team. With numbers this high, this plan wasn't a problem. You may struggle with characters like Yoimiya or Hu Tao simply due to the high health of these enemies.

Floor 12: Bedroom Three - Second Semester

This room sees the return of the infamous Maguu Kenki. I actually find this boss easy enough, but it's controversial in the Abyss due to a mechanic: for the first ten seconds of the battle, while the boss charges up, he's completely invulnerable.

You can use this step to your advantage. You can see in the image above that my Elemental Bursts have decreased. But, by hitting the boss in his invulnerable phase, you can generate energy particles to charge your Elemental Explosions. This way you can be a little less aware of which Elemental Burst you use in the previous chamber.

You can refer to this guide to learn the Maguu Kenki attack patterns.

If you've cleared this floor, congratulations! You finished the Spiral Abyss. You have plenty of time now to build your characters for the next cycle, which seems pretty hard to tackle ...